CycleDog: (n) 1. An all-weather bicyclist, often regarded as one very sick puppy with a bad attitude. 2. A ankle-biting poodle with a Mohawk. (l)Canis
familiaris cyclus

Monday, March 14, 2005

Bicycle Parking

One of my co-workers was just named as employee of themonth.....for November. Let's just say the program is running alittle behind.

There are some perks that go with this. For the next month, hegets to use the EOM parking space right next to the front door.I was wondering what I'd do if they ever gave me the award.Could I put the reserved parking sign on the bicycle rack? It'san idea that appeals to my fondness for the absurd.

Actually, since I ride my bike most days, I already have a greatparking space. There's a tiny parking lot right in front of thebuilding. The main parking lot is across the street, so someemployees will wait and wait and wait for a spot to open outfront. Now, they could park across the street and walk, and thatwould probably take less time than waiting for a spot, but theysit there, engine idling, until someone leaves.

The bike rack is right out front too. Until our new securityfence went up, I had an even better spot in the shade right nextto the building. It was about 4 steps from the door. I couldleave at the end of the shift and be out of the parking lotbefore the traffic started to build. The new rack is about 50feet from the EOM parking spot, but still closer than the mainlot.

I'm lucky too, in that my workplace is inside the securityperimeter of an airport, so the bike rack is inside the securityzone too. Theft and pilferage are not a problem. Today, forinstance, I rode my carbon-fiber racing bike, and I don't worryabout leaving it on the rack outside. (The weather report iscalling for 20-30 mph headwinds on my way home. Much as I loveriding a fixed gear, on days like this I want lower gears!)

My situation is the exception. Most bicycle parking leaves muchto be desired. Security is probably the biggest problem. We allworry about bike theft. There are some simple, common-senseapproaches to stopping bike thieves. One idea is to ride an'ugly' bike - an old bike that may be in excellent mechanicalshape, but is just plain ugly. Some people will spray flat blackpaint onto a perfectly good frame, or cover it with blackelectrical tape. They'll ride old three speeds, single speeds,or fixed gears. Some folks carry two locking systems becausethieves reportedly won't carry the tools to defeat more than one.

I went with the ugly bike approach when I worked in a largemetropolitan hospital. I rode a Paris Sport track bike with ascabrous golden brown paint job. It came from the factory thatway! The hospital had a bike rack inside the parking garage. Ilocked the bike there with the original Kryptonite lock (it was aLONG time ago!), took of the front wheel, pump, and lights, andwalked to my work area. No one would steal a bike with only onewheel.